Teacher Name: Angie Vandewarker
Chippewa River Writing Project
Invitational Summer Institute 2011
Audience: This is for a fifth grade classroom. Students will be familiar with historical fiction from their regular class rooms. This lesson will be presented in the last nine weeks of the school year. Students will also be familiar with writing using technology. Disclaimer: Due to limitations set forth by our district, this will be done on Wikispaces. If we were able to get support to use a more flexible software, this presentation would be done on Google Docs. Questions:
Through the presentation of information in this teaching lesson I hope to evoke discussion on the following questions:
This is a who/what/where/when/why assignment. Is there a different method you feel would work better for teaching writing?
Does the method I use make sense?
My assignment is a co-authored assignment. Would this work better as a single-authored assignment?
This assignment has a digital element. How does this enhance learning? How can I convey this to administrators?
Contentions:My demonstration is meant to sugest and support my belief that:
"When we honor what they [students] bring and give them opportunities to express their writer's voice in the forums of their choosing, we gain insight into the mind and experience of the child. "Strugglers" need process writing and strategy instruction." (Wells 19)
when students learn to "...organize details in a way that makes sense, sketch out an organizational structure and plunge in, it is invaluable to have others read my [their] work." (Spandel 61)
"Students [are] able to learn different approaches to writing from others and; the sense of audience moved beyond the teacher, as students were sharing with their peers and could easily publish to the wider Internet. Students explore different information and communication technologies and choose the best technology to facilitate the task at hand and the situation to which they are responding." (Devos 58)
"Voice is about rhythm. Eighty percent of revision is rhymical--making changes to make the right music." (Spandel 136-137)
The Assignment Overview:
Students will research a U.S. historical event that took place in the 1700-1800's (the Revolutionary War).
Students will and analyze a mock newspaper article regarding their historical events and will "write to learn" by listing facts that will be divided into five categories
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
Why?
Groups of students will choose a familiar tune and they will compose lyrics that teach the historical facts for younger learners.(Link here)
When project is complete, it will be video taped,posted, and shared online with younger learners, and it will be announced in various media outlets across the county.
Think Out Loud:
Students will recieve a copy of Shh! We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz and illustrated by Tomie DePaola.
Brainstorm accurate facts from the book we shared
Chart those facts on a "brainstorm sheet" (this sheet would be best left up for student reflection)
2. Write a rhyme/lyric from a memorable tune; based on their facts from historical research.
From above "brainstorm sheet" re-arrange facts into a metrical the facts on the
Publish/share their information on a Wiki. (Participants may see these as 'mentor texts')
As a class create a page of criteria of a "good" rhyme. Model this.
As a class review a web page: Access Constitution web page Constitution. Model this.
Discuss how to brainstorm/template (spend a good amount of time drawing circle maps/trees/organizers).
Go to Wiki (as a class) Model this.
Access template. Model this.
Fill in who/what/where/why as a class. (Note: one person needs to be a scribe)
Create simple rhyme as a class.Rhyme Link Model this.
Explore the possibility of using snaps and clap prior to getting out rhythm instruments. Model this.
Choose a known meolody. (Discuss songs typical to the era. These tunes may be unknown to fifth graders, but inform them that if they were more familiar with these tunes, we may have used those in place of our known tunes from today). Model this.
Set rhyme/lyric to familiar tune as a class. (Note: Participants are encouraged to use rhythm instruments to enhance the musical piece).
Practice performance. Model this.
Put on flip camera of class performing finish product. Model this.
If time permits, publish movie to web. Model this.
Process for CRWP Praticipants: Links to web resources
Create small groups.
Assign group names/web page. (Note: One person needs to be the scribe)
5. Groups read silently. (Take this time to pre-write what they "traditionally would have composed their information on a papter. Individual writers would do this independently). 6. Scribe puts facts onto brainstorm page. 7. Groups regroup their facts into rhymes. 8. Choose ckaps/snaps and then explore instruments/sound affects. 9. Practice performance. 10. Each group performs piece for remaining groups. 11. Publish to the web. 12. View videos online (While waiting for the videos to load, take this time to "post write" what was different this time from our usual way of learning? How would you use it in the future?) 13. Allow students more time to comment on the strengths of each other's videos.
Extension(s):
Have the kids practice their songs using Voice Thread to hear their progress
Have the kids turn these songs into digital stories
Allow teams to work with one another and get help/validation on their song.
If time permits, allow groups to compose another one.
Bibliography
DeVoss, Danielle Nicole, Elyse Eidman Aadahl, and Troy Hicks. Because Digital Writing Matters: Improving Student Writing in Online and Multimedia Environments. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.
Lane, Barry, and Miles Bodimeade. 51 Wacky We-search Reports: Face the Facts with Fun! Shoreham, VT: Discover Writing, 2003. Print.
Spandel, Vicki. The 9 Rights of Every Writer: a Guide for Teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2005. Print.
Wells, Jan, and Janine Reid. Writing Anchors: Explicit Lessons That Identify Criteria, Offer Strategic Support, and Lead Students to Take Ownership of Their Writing. Markham, Ont.: Pembroke, 2004. Print.
~
Teacher Name: Angie Vandewarker
Chippewa River Writing Project
Invitational Summer Institute 2011
Audience: This is for a fifth grade classroom. Students will be familiar with historical fiction from their regular class rooms. This lesson will be presented in the last nine weeks of the school year. Students will also be familiar with writing using technology.
Disclaimer: Due to limitations set forth by our district, this will be done on Wikispaces. If we were able to get support to use a more flexible software, this presentation would be done on Google Docs.
Questions:
Through the presentation of information in this teaching lesson I hope to evoke discussion on the following questions:
- This is a who/what/where/when/why assignment. Is there a different method you feel would work better for teaching writing?
- Does the method I use make sense?
- My assignment is a co-authored assignment. Would this work better as a single-authored assignment?
- This assignment has a digital element. How does this enhance learning? How can I convey this to administrators?
Contentions:My demonstration is meant to sugest and support my belief that:The Assignment Overview:
Think Out Loud:
- Brainstorm accurate facts from the book we shared
- Chart those facts on a "brainstorm sheet" (this sheet would be best left up for student reflection)
2. Write a rhyme/lyric from a memorable tune; based on their facts from historical research.Process for CRWP Praticipants: Links to web resources
|| Group 2 || Philadelphia 1776 || Philadelphia Brainstorm || Song created about Philadelphia 1776 ||
|| Group 3 || Trenton 1776 || Trenton Brainstorm || Song created about Trenton ||
|| Group 4 || Saratoga 1777 || Saratoga Brainstorm || Song created about Saratoga ||
|| Group 5 || Yorktown 1781 || Yorktown Brainstorm || Song created about Yorktown ||
|| Group 6 || Philadelphia 1791 || Philadelphia Brainstorm || Song aoubt 1791 ||
5. Groups read silently. (Take this time to pre-write what they "traditionally would have composed their information on a papter. Individual writers would do this independently).
6. Scribe puts facts onto brainstorm page.
7. Groups regroup their facts into rhymes.
8. Choose ckaps/snaps and then explore instruments/sound affects.
9. Practice performance.
10. Each group performs piece for remaining groups.
11. Publish to the web.
12. View videos online (While waiting for the videos to load, take this time to "post write" what was different this time from our usual way of learning? How would you use it in the future?)
13. Allow students more time to comment on the strengths of each other's videos.
Extension(s):
Bibliography
DeVoss, Danielle Nicole, Elyse Eidman Aadahl, and Troy Hicks. Because Digital Writing Matters: Improving Student Writing in Online and Multimedia Environments. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.
Lane, Barry, and Miles Bodimeade. 51 Wacky We-search Reports: Face the Facts with Fun! Shoreham, VT: Discover Writing, 2003. Print.
Spandel, Vicki. The 9 Rights of Every Writer: a Guide for Teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2005. Print.
Wells, Jan, and Janine Reid. Writing Anchors: Explicit Lessons That Identify Criteria, Offer Strategic Support, and Lead Students to Take Ownership of Their Writing. Markham, Ont.: Pembroke, 2004. Print.